12 Great Christmas Songs You've Never Heard Of

Let's be real here: If you're going to check out only one Sufjan Stevens song from the (no joke) 42 tracks on Songs For Christmas, it should probably be the relentlessly weird "Christmas Unicorn," which clocks in at 12 minutes and at one point incorporates a cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

Let's be real here: If you're going to check out only one Sufjan Stevens song from the (no joke) 42 tracks on Songs For Christmas, it should probably be the relentlessly weird "Christmas Unicorn," which clocks in at 12 minutes and at one point incorporates a cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart." Seriously, if you have never experienced the thrill of people at a Christmas party slowly stopping in mid-conversation to try to figure out what they're listening to, it's pure Christmas magic.

If you'd rather not confuse your party guests, though, go with "C'mon Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance." Despite the fact that it sounds like an insufferable singalong track from an album for babies, it's a bright, undeniably joyful tune about getting together with your family that balances genuine sentiment with weird, cute lines like "Jesus and Mary, what a great day!" More than anything else, it's like if Vince Guaraldi's classic soundtrack to the Peanuts Christmas Special was done by an indie rock group instead of a jazz trio.

If you like it, there's a similar song in the collection called "Put the Lights on the Tree," and while it has a better title by far, it's also much shorter and lacks the gentle crescendo of this one. It's the audio equivalent of running through a crisp new snowfall on Christmas morning on your way to get presents, and that's never a bad thing at the holidays.

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